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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28542432">your eyes like starlight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/c_tristesse/pseuds/c_tristesse'>c_tristesse</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Harmony - Freeform, Post-War</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:01:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,948</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28542432</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/c_tristesse/pseuds/c_tristesse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the first Christmas Eve since Voldemort’s defeat and Hermione and Harry are excited to spend it together with Teddy, even if it's just a quiet celebration in Harry's London flat. The day doesn't go exactly as planned for either of them, but somehow it's perfect anyways. </p><p>more harmony fluff for ari and the h/hr discord &lt;3</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Harry Potter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>97</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Christmas With Harmony 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>your eyes like starlight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arireads/gifts">Arireads</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>an (extremely belated) submission for the Christmas With Harmony fest created by the wonderful mods at the h/hr discord - I adore this community so much and wanted to express my love with another small fluff offering! </p><p>for ari, as always :) and believe it or not, this was mostly written before she posted her incredible <a href="https://arishatistic.tumblr.com/post/638493709501169664/harry-and-hermione-celebrate-every-christmas-with">harmony + teddy gingerbread house art</a> but IT'S SO PERFECT that i claim it as inspiration anyways</p><p>title from ‘baby it’s cold outside’, sort of</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the owl from the Auror’s Office arrived on the morning of the 24th, Harry had almost ignored the emergency call into work. He had only spent one night with Hermione this holiday - she had spent the first week with her parents (at Harry’s insistence) and he was loath to give up any more time with her. Between starting auror training and Hermione’s return to Hogwarts for her seventh year, he had barely seen his girlfriend since September. </p><p>Still, he knows he could spare a few hours. They had a lot more time in front of them now - the initial plan had been to spend a mere 2 days together before spending the rest of Christmas at The Burrow, but when Percy had suddenly announced plans for a New Year’s wedding and the Weasley clan had left the country to help with preparations in the middle of December, Harry and Hermione ended up with a whole week just for themselves. </p><p>As soon as the Weasley’s had finalized their new plans, Harry had put in for vacation (for the first time in 7 months), picked up Teddy from daycare, and started decking out his tiny London flat with festive decorations in anticipation for Hermione’s arrival. She had Floo’ed in the evening of the 23rd, excited for uninterrupted quality with her boys before the three of them traveled to Paris on the 31st for Percy’s wedding. </p><p>Unfortunately, dark wizards didn’t rest, even on holidays. A large horned owl bearing a letter with the Ministry’s seal tapped on Harry’s bedroom window on the dawn of the 24th, rousing him from sleep. He woke to the sight of Hermione’s golden skin glowing in the pale sunlight, silk sheets pooled around her bare waist. He would have been content to brush the curls from her face and stare at her relaxed expression all morning, but the owl rapped again impatiently - Harry blearlily rubbed at his eyes and wandered over to the window. </p><p>By the time he had scanned the letter, scratched out a response, and started fishing through his drawers for a few Knuts to pay the messenger bird, Hermione was padding over to him. Harry felt his heart clench at the image of her, clad only in one of his oversized quidditch jerseys that she loved to steal, with a sleepy smile gracing her lips. She pecked his cheek with a sweet “good morning, love” before frowning at the owl on the windowsill.</p><p>“They need me to come into work,” he offered as both explanation and apology, “Will you be OK at home with Teddy for a few hours?” He brought a hand to her cheek and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.</p><p>She tilted her head to lean her face into his palm. “Of course, Harry. Do what you need to do, and don’t give me that look,” she says at his torn expression, “it’s not too much to ask. Just come home safe.” </p><p>She smiled adoringly and Harry marveled at how she still managed to surprise him with love and support when he least felt like he had earned it. He leaned forward on instinct to capture her lips in an insistent kiss. She laughed against his mouth at the unexpected intensity, but her giggle turned into a squeak as he swept her off her feet and carried her bridal-style towards the bathroom.</p><p>Twenty minutes (and one rushed shower) later, he’s bending over Teddy’s crib to drop a kiss on the sleeping child’s forehead before pulling on his coat and heading out into the snowy streets. </p><p>Of course, the stakeout ends up taking several hours longer to finish than his captain had initially promised. By the time their target is in custody and the compulsory paperwork is written up, the sun has set and a cold chill grips the night. Harry groans with relief when he’s finally dismissed and Apparates straight to his doorstep before he can be given another assignment. He fiddles with his keys in the doorknob for a moment before it opens magically for him, and he’s greeted by a frantic Hermione in the doorway.</p><p>He laughs as he takes in her frazzled state: her curls are wild, half-caked in flour, and her face is splattered with what looks like egg whites. She has Teddy clutched in her arms and he can see the tree behind her has been completely drowned in an explosion of tinsel. He shuts the door and takes in the scent of cinnamon and - was that <i>smoke</i>? The kitchen is a warzone, all surfaces splattered with various baking ingredients as the oven beeps in alarm. </p><p>“What happened in here?” he asks with a bemused smile, shrugging out of his coat and scarf. </p><p>Hermione looks defeated. “Apparently, Teddy wasn’t happy with how you did the tree.” The baby sucks his thumb innocently and Harry wonders if the boy’s angelic face will baffle victims of his pranks for years to come. </p><p>“Did he have something against the cookies too, then?” Harry teases with a sly grin as he takes Teddy from Hermione’s arms, the 8 month-old cooing at his godfather’s familiar voice.</p><p>Hermione glowers. “Not another word out of you, Harry Potter. I’ll have you know I’m a much more competent baker when our son isn’t spouting out accidental magic faster than a boiling kettle,” she huffs out.</p><p>A thrill shoots through him at the way she says ‘our son’ - Harry shifts his hold on Teddy to wrap Hermione in a warm embrace. Her uptight posture immediately relaxes as she melts into Harry’s arms. She feels his chest rumble with more quiet laughter but decides not to swat him for it when he kisses the top of her head in apology.</p><p>He pulls back, green eyes bright with amusement, before kissing her with such passion that she temporarily forgets the kitchen might be on fire. Desire pools in her stomach as his tongue brushes against her lips - she feels dizzy by the time he finally releases her.</p><p>“Thanks, Hermione,” he whispers against her mouth. “It’s perfect.”</p><p>She feels her cheeks warm but rolls her eyes at his sincere tone. “You don’t have to <i>lie</i>, Harry, I obviously didn’t want you to come home to such a mess -”</p><p>He presses his lips to hers again, interrupting her embarrassed voice. “I’d never lie to you, love. But how about I take over in the kitchen?” His warm smile pulls into a mischievous smirk that fills her with butterflies. It’s far too similar to the way he looked at her in bed last night - and based on the way he’s laughing again, he knows exactly why she’s blushing. She jabs him with her wand and marches over to the oven. </p><p>With a few quick spells, the two of them have the kitchen sparkling clean and Teddy’s magically expanding tinsel artfully framing the fireplace instead of piled in the living room. Harry stands at the counter, mixing a new batch of gingerbread batter while Hermione sips on a warm mulled wine. She transfigures each of them a ridiculously ugly holiday sweater (with matching Santa hats) and Teddy giggles in delight - his hair alternates between green and red for the rest of the evening, morphing to match whoevers arms he’s in. </p><p>They light candles and play Christmas music through the ancient radio Harry had spirited away from Grimmauld Place. Laughter, smiles, and silly conversations flow easily between them, both content to share the other’s company after so many months apart. They try to build the gingerbread house but it devolves a battle to smear icing into a each other’s faces; they put the final flourishes on the tree, Harry conjuring up some extra Gryffindor trimmings while Hermione charms the star on top to roar like a lion; they set about arranging the mass of presents into a neat pile on the tree skirt and both chuckle at the barely-wrapped miniature broom that’s surely Teddy’s gift from Ron. </p><p>Under the twinkling fairy lights, Hermione’s brown eyes literally sparkle and Teddy gazes up at the decorations, completely entranced - Harry feels sure he’s never seen anything more magical as the expressions on their faces. The whole flat smells like peppermint and pine, and despite being in a cramped this tiny space in the middle of a dreary London winter instead of the magnificent halls of Hogwarts, he’s never felt happier. </p><p>A few hours later, the two of them are curled up on the sofa with a fleece blanket over their laps and cups of hot cocoa in hand. Teddy is snuggled up against Hermione’s chest, shoulders rising and falling with the slow breaths of sleep. The fire crackles happily in the hearth and casts merry shadows across the walls of the small living room. Hermione watches the sleeping child with so much fondness that Harry feels tears prick at the back of his eyes. </p><p>“I love you.” His words interrupt the peaceful silence, choked out from behind the sudden lump in his throat. Hermione looks up at his serious tone and her expression softens at the emotions swirling in his gaze.</p><p>“I love you, too,” she says softly, and they are both reminded of the first time they said these words to each other, exactly one year ago today - hand-in-hand before the graves of Lily and James in Godric’s Hollow. The air is suddenly solemn as they both recall how dark the world felt then, the solitude that pervaded the graveyard on that snowy night when they had been completely isolated from the rest of the world. </p><p>He had been overcome with loss in that moment, grieving for the family he had never known and the cursed legacy he had grown up with instead. Back then, Hermione had been his only comfort in what seemed like a never-ending nightmare. Now, her love encompassed his entire being with the same brilliant warmth of their fireplace - they had saved the world together and at long last they were safe, able to share in the simple joy of their first Christmas as a family.</p><p>He sees his parents’ photo smiling at him happily from the crowd of pictures atop the mantle and is struck by the sense that this quiet holiday between a young couple and their new infant must be remarkably similar to the last Christmas his parents shared 17 years ago. </p><p>This was the life Harry had always yearned for, from when he was a neglected child living under the stairs through his short-lived adolescence and his young adulthood wearing the mantle of The Chosen One. Hermione had been there for every step of that journey, and now she was the reason he was living out the dreams he never dared to believe would come true. </p><p>Staring into her eyes as they shine like starlight, Harry knows she’s thinking the same thing. As if on an unspoken cue, they move towards each other slowly - their noses brush sweetly before their lips meet. The kiss tastes like chocolate and Hermione lets herself melt into the sensation of his mouth moving against hers, Teddy’s heart beating against her own, and the feeling of belonging that settles deeply within her bones. When she pulls away, Harry is still looking at her like she hung the moon, and it feels like falling in love all over again. </p><p>The clock chimes midnight and fills the room with the quiet jingling of bells. Hermione rests her forehead against Harry’s and with that, he is home.</p><p>“Happy Christmas, Harry.” Her breath ghosts over his face. He kisses her again, all sweetness and adoration. Her cheeks turn pink and it’s the most beautiful color he’s ever seen. </p><p>“Happy Christmas, Hermione.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks for reading &lt;3  feedback and comments are always appreciated!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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